The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Published

No one should be left to starve

With $65 million reserved for the drought relief programme specifically to assist persons in the drought stricken communal lands and with strict instructions that no funds from this vote should be transferred from this item without prior treasury approval one can only hope that no single Zimbabwean will be left to starve.

But the odds are that the situation is likely to be critical because unlike in the previous years the country has no reserves to talk about.

Moreover, the $65 million is just a mere 35 per cent increase over $48 million granted last year when the situation was much better.

In May this year, for example, a staggering 1.3 million people were on drought relief. In the same month last year only 368 000 were on drought relief. This represents a 179 per cent increase on the number of people that need state assistance.

Worse still the number of people in need of drought relief is likely to increase as the meagre harvests people had dwindle with the onset of the farming season.

Moreover, the prices of basic foodstuffs is going up at such alarming rates that even those with little cash may not be able to buy enough to feed themselves.

There have already been calls for the government not only to supply maize meal but other things like beans because people may have the staple sadza but nothing to go with it.

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.